Entertainment

Jackson Galaxy relaxes with Velouria, a cat he's had with him since his time living in Boulder. (Brooks PR / Courtesy photo)

If you watch

Want to check out Jackson Galaxy's "Cat From Hell" TV show? Here are some upcoming episodes being aired by Animal Planet (times are Mountain):

• 5 p.m. June 21: "911, My Cat's Holding Me Hostage!"

• 6 p.m. June 21: "Mama Mia!"

• 9 p.m. June 21: "Mama Mia!"

• 12:01 a.m. June 22: "911, My Cat's Holding Me Hostage!"

• 5 p.m. June 28: "Cat Horror Show"

• 6 p.m. June 28: "Multi-Million Dollar Nightmare"

• 7 p.m. June 28 "Mama Mia!"

• 9 p.m. June 28: "Multi-Million Dollar Nightmare"

• 10 p.m. June 28: "Mama Mia!"

•12:01 a.m. June 29: "Cat Horror Show"

(This story was updated June 23 to eliminate the phrase "cat whisperer," which is trademarked by The Cat Behavior Clinic in Seattle.)

In 1992, Jackson Galaxy moved to Boulder from his native New York to be a musician. He played guitar, grew wild, multicolored dreadlocks, and his band, Pope of the Circus Gods, played gigs along the Front Range.

"I've got to tell you, the first time I got to play the Fox (Theatre in Boulder) was the highlight of my life," Galaxy said. "To this day, it's one of the best stages I've ever been on."

While the 49-year-old hasn't given up music — he still writes songs, and plans to someday get back into performing — he no longer carries a guitar in his electric guitar case. Instead, it's filled with cat toys.

The former rocker is now known to much of the nation as the cat tamer; the guy who can walk into a home filled with unhappy felines and frazzled humans and turn discord into beautiful harmony.

Galaxy dealt with his own demons when he lived in Boulder. In his 2012 book "Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love and Coming Clean," Galaxy describes his early years in Boulder as a descent into self-destruction — he was addicted to drugs, booze and food — and how he eventually left a series of meaningless work situations and found his calling when he landed a job at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley.

By the time Galaxy left Boulder for Los Angeles in 2007, he had earned a reputation as a cat behaviorist. He eventually landed his own television program, "My Cat From Hell," which captures Galaxy's work with troubled cats and their bewildered guardians.

Another book from Galaxy is due out in October. "Catification," co-written by cat-design expert Kate Benjamin, will be a DIY book on how to turn your home into a cat-friendly space.

Jackson, whose fifth season of "My Cat From Hell" recently debuted, spoke by phone with the Camera from his home in Los Angeles:

Did you always have an affinity for cats growing up, or did that develop when you worked at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley?

It was not until I started working in Boulder. I didn't grow up with cats. I grew up with a dog and goldfish. I had cats in college and grad school. But they never spoke to me; there was never that thing. Then when I started working at HSBV, within a couple of weeks of being there, my nickname had become cat boy. They picked me.

What can viewers expect from Season 5? Are you traveling all over the country?

We have a lot of stops this season. We're in Austin, Boston, L.A., Portland and San Diego. And it's fantastic, because one of the things about filming in L.A. is you're working from the location out. You're trying to find the best stories you can in a given location. This way, we're working from the story out. We work from wherever the cat is.

Have you found that people in different parts of the country have different relationships with their cats, or it's pretty much the same?

Jackson Galaxy hangs out with Benny, one of the cats he had during his days in Boulder. (Daily Camera file photo / 2003)

No. I think one of the things that makes me the happiest is the relationship between human and cat is universal. In every corner of the world we have found peace with our animals that we can't find anywhere else. That's universal, and it's something that really keeps me going.

What do you find are some of the biggest misunderstandings that people have about cats?

First and foremost is that they're totally self-sufficient. Of course, they're incredibly resourceful, they're incredibly skilled hunters, and that's why they're still here with us — they're so good at doing that job. But that doesn't mean they don't thrive on companionship or they don't thrive on the social structure of a home. They do. And I think that lends itself to thinking, "I can go away for the weekend and put out a bowl of food and the cat will be fine." And I'm here to say, "That's not the case. They miss you."

In your show, it's pretty obvious when you encounter pet guardians and their cats that are having problems, you're dealing with the people as much as you are with the cat.

Yeah, behavior, whether it's on two legs or four, does not happen in a vacuum. It happens as a reaction to the world we are in.

Did that surprise you when you started filming the show, or was that already old hat?

That was from the first consult I ever did. But don't forget, in almost 10 years of working at HSBV I dealt up close and personal with the relationship between human and cat and dog, and whatever else. And the incredible array of extreme emotions that go along with that relationship. So by the time I stepped into people's homes, I knew I would be their therapist as much as their animals'.

Tell me some general tips for interacting with your cat. Like a safe place to pet your cat.

I think one of the things that we tend to forget is that cats have what's called a sympathetic nervous system. Which means that when you pet them, you are putting energy in them. You are filling them with a certain amount of static. So if you're mindlessly stroking your cat from head to tail, it's like putting air into a balloon. And you need to be able to take that air out. So for people who say, "I pet him five times, and on the sixth time, he bit me," they've overstimulated the cat.

I say that when you first meet a cat, especially, you start with the safe areas: cheek, forehead, under the neck. The other thing is let the cat pet you. A lot of times I use my finger as an introduction. I'll put out my finger in a relaxed way and allow the cat to come up and then guide me where he wants to be pet. Let them show you as opposed to petting them the way you pet a dog.

In general, how important is play every day to a cat?

If you have a dog, and (you live in a city), you have a leash that hangs at the door, and every day, two or three times a day, you're walking that dog. That's how important play is for a cat. It's not even a matter of a luxury, it's a must. If I have one soap box to stand on, it would be play with your cat every day. It's a way to not only take that static out of their bodies, but it's also a way to solve social problems; to give an unconfident cat confidence; to bring down the heat from a bully cat. Plus, when I talk about cat mojo — cat mojo exists when cats are allowed to hunt, catch, kill and eat. And because we also encourage cats to not be outside anymore, we have to stimulate their hunt, catch, kill, eat instinct. And that's what play is.

How many times a day do people see you in public and want to tell you about their cats?

I can't even count. But you know what? One of the loveliest fringe benefits of this job is that I am accosted with cell phones, like, 100 times a day. People come up to me and show me pictures of their cats on their cell phones. I think that's fantastic. I've got to say, for an old shelter worker like me, when you see that cats have been elevated in status from a cultural standpoint — and that's what we're doing, I think — that does my heart a lot of good.

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